2017
The Temple of Poetry
open air
Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Abkhazian poet
and prose writer Bagrat Shinkuba
The Temple of Poetry is a circle of twelve symbols composed of Diana Vouba's non-verbal alphabet signs and her twelve male and female sculptures Highlander.
ARASH – the winged horse in Abkhaz mythology, reminds the Pegasus. A favorite of the muses, a symbol of poetry.
AFY (abkh.) – the lightning. The symbol of creative power. At the same time, lightning is related to light and enlightenment; it symbolizes the Logos that pierces the darkness.
CRADLE – the symbol of emerging life. The waves beneath it are the waves of life and the "Makhajir lullaby".
SCRAP symbolizes Apsuara - the spiritual and moral teaching of the Abkhaz, transmitted
from generation to generation.
FLOWER – the vehicle between God and the prophet.
SANDGLASS
the symbol of time,
day and night.
CROSS – the main symbol of Christianity.
STAR and LIRA – the emblem and attribute of the poet, the poet's star.
CUTTED STONE – the symbol of Abrskil and the native village of Bagrat Shinkuba - Chlou.
FLOWER – the symbol of rebirth, the constant renewal of nature.
THE CHAIN OVER THE HEARTH
It was the most sacred place in the traditional Abkhazian house. Over the chain the oaths were sworn; a daughter getting married and leaving the family said goodbye to it; the bride of a son was welcomed into the family by going around the hearth. To lose the chain was considered a great shame, to steal it – an insult to all the people of the family that entailed blood revenge. Interestingly: when moving Abkhaz people never left the chains behind, always taking them to a new home.
ALASHARBAGA (abkh.) – the light at the top of the cliff that saves from a false path.
TWELVE MALE AND
FEMALE FIGURES

form a circle – the ancient Abkhaz wedding dance Aurashya that symbolizes the unity of the people and their future.
Sukhum, Abkhazia
Material: acrylic on wood

Art